Greece debt crisis: Tsipras announces referendum
July 2015
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has called a referendum on 5 July for voters to decide whether to accept a deal offered by international creditors.
Alexis Tsipras made clear he was against the "unbearable" EU plan.
Parliament is debating whether to ratify the vote, and some queues have been seen outside banks in Athens.
Eurozone finance ministers are meeting to discuss the crisis, and to decide whether to give Greece an extension of the bailout until after the vote.
The current bailout expires on Tuesday, the same day Greece's IMF debt is due.
It is unclear what would happen if Greece does not get a temporary extension. Without a deal on the bailout, there are fears Greece's economy could collapse.
The head of Mr Tsipras's coalition partners, Panos Kammenos, called for calm amid reports that worried Greeks had begun queuing outside banks to take out their money. Many fear that Greece's central bank might start restricting withdrawals.
In a televised address, Mr Tsipras described the deal offered by the EU as "humiliation" and condemned "unbearable" austerity measures demanded by creditors.
The government portrays the referendum as yes or no to austerity. The opposition says it is, in effect, yes or no to Europe. Some of them say the referendum itself is unconstitutional, and are urging the Greek president to reject it.
